We just passed your one-year anniversary here! You’re an entrepreneur, traveler, husband, and Dad. It seems you’re constantly on the run with all the balls you try to juggle. You finally got to enjoy your first team competition as well. You are Type A, by my estimation, and are determined to squeeze every bit of potential out of yourself. What makes you tick?
CFD: What were you doing before you found CrossFit Dynamo to stay in shape?
CG: I was doing cardio circuit classes about 4 times a week.
CFD: Why change?
CG: I was looking for a competitive environment where people push themselves and each other. And also I wanted to lift weights, not just do cardio.
CFD: Well, you came in with quite a motor. How has your game gotten better by being here?
CG: You can have a good motor, but if you run it too hot it blows out quickly. So my game has gotten better at pacing and understanding that I want to be finishing strong, not just starting strong. I have to thank Jenny Gregory for helping me with this!
CFD: You have quite a fire within you. What drives you to work so hard?
CG: I want my daughter to be proud of me when I walk her down the aisle if she gets married one day. So my driving force is to be healthy not just for me, but for the people around me. My goal is to die healthy. I realize that my irresponsibility will become someone else’s responsibility and I don’t ever want to do that to someone else as long as it’s in my control.
CFD: Early on, you really didn’t like scaling anything. About 6 months in, things clicked and you’re smarter now about when and where to Rx (which is nearly all the time now). How did taking a step back every once in a while allow you to take three forward?
CG: The truth is I got hurt because I didn’t listen. When I was out for a couple weeks I realized I wasn’t any good for myself or those around me. CrossFit didn’t hurt me; I hurt me. So I learned that good form trumps everything. I put myself in a position to think down the road to 5/10/20 years from now and no one cares whether I Rx anything or not. The goal is to have good form in order to stay in the game for a long time.
CFD: You finally got to compete a month or so ago. How was it and has it changed you as a CrossFitter going forward?
CG: I hadn’t competed since college when I played baseball and I had forgotten how competitive I really am. So now I’m eyeing the CrossFit Open and my goal is to be the best scaled competitor I can be in the CrossFit Open this year. It’s driving me in my nutrition, mobility, stretching and lifting. Having a competition scheduled is a great mile-marker to drive me.
CFD: So, you’ve got a knee that we have to watch from time to time and mobility was a bit of an issue when you showed up. How has increasing leg strength and your squat depth helped how your knee feels now? Or has it?
CG: Knock on wood, all of my knee problems have gone away. I squat more than I ever have in my life and my legs are as big and strong as they’ve ever been. I assume that’s why my knee is better. Plus, I’m having a heck of a lot more fun than when I used to run marathons. GAG!
CFD: You have to travel a good bit for your job. What do you do and what are you doing on the road to keep fit?
CG: Honestly, I eat terrible and I don’t work out much when I’m traveling. How about that for the truth?
CFD: Favorite Movement? Why?
CG: Thrusters – I like how miserable they make me feel. The more miserable I feel, the better I feel. Ironic and sick, but I love it!
CFD: Least?
CG: Handstand push-ups – I don’t like being upside down. God made me with two feet, so I don’t like being on my hands.
CFD: Favorite WoD and why?
CG: The Murph – I like WoDs that have meaning behind them. I truly respect anyone in the military and to be able to go out and do that means a lot. And I love how miserable it is.
CFD: Worst WoD?
CG: Anything with handstand push-ups
CFD: More Favorite: Lifting PR or Benchmark WoD PR?
CG: Lifting PR
CFD: What’s your next short-term goal?
CG: Win the scaled division of the Open
CFD: Long term?
CG: I’m not looking past the Open at this point
CFD: What’s the biggest difference you’ve seen here since joining?
CG: The level of attention to detail in the coaching is first class. And I absolutely love the community of the “Nooners” and that those people have moved from acquaintances to friends.
CFD: What would you say is your biggest accomplishment since joining CFD?
CG: Winning the scaled team competition that we were a part of a few months ago. I’m really proud of our team for that.
CFD: Favorite music to WoD?
CG: Any thug rap.
CFD: Quick, what’s your most memorable moment at CFD?
CG: When Nick Chism and I did Murph with the 25-pound weighted vest. That was an awesome moment for me and I’ll never forget it.
CFD: Funniest moment you can remember?
CG: When I turned the barbell vertical to get the weights off the bottom and they weren’t budging. I couldn’t understand why so I kept trying to push them down and they wouldn’t move. What I didn’t realize was that I had clamps on the bar. John Holland and Brian Hartigan both saw me and laughed in my face.